Books and bacon. They go together like… eggs and bacon! I can’t wait to share with you a great idea for the second combo, but first allow me to digress and share a very special family story.
Since the boys were babies, we have always read to them as part of their bedtime routine, until of course they were old enough to read themselves! Of all the hundreds of books, two were the absolute favourite of all. Ironic really, for both these books were guaranteed to make me cry (yes, I’m emotional at the best of times!) One of them was called The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. It tells the story of how a parent’s heart is always connected to the child’s heart, with “an invisible string made of love”. I often think about this still, and love finding ways that the boys can feel a sense of connection to home when they’re away. Sometimes it’s a note left in their lunchbox to find, or a message hidden in their wallets, and most definitely it is what I put in their school lunchboxes…
Preparing the bacon rings
You see, I passionately believe food connects us. Food can be the most honest and true expression of who we are. And, much as I happily adore sharing food with friends and extended family, I think where food and connection really begins is at home. In my eyes, my greatest food successes are the wholesome, loved, nutrient-dense packs of deliciousness I create for my boys and Mr D. Helping them to be their own powerhouses of sustained energy, and boosting their body fuel, brain focus and on-top-of-the-world vibes. I just want to help them feel SO DANG GOOD!
When I can create recipes that are easy packages to transport and tuck in lunchboxes, or even quickly grab on-the-go to an early sports session, I get as much joy making them as the family does devouring them. These egg and bacon cupcakes are quick, easy and a favourite example.
Eggs are widely recognized as being amongst the most nutritious foods on the planet. Along with providing a host of good vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, they are also a great source of the nutrient choline. Choline is incredibly important for building our cell membranes as well as producing the signaling molecules in the brain – yet studies reveal that a large majority of people are deficient in this nutrient. Just one egg provides more than 100 mg of choline, and can make a huge difference to body fitness and function. Eggs are also extremely good for eye health, so lots of body parts will be happy when you chow down on these eggy cupcakes.
Another great healthy inclusion are the chili flakes that work really well to help boost our metabolism. And anytime you include bacon, well you just know that things are going to be good! Please pass the cupcake, I have some book reading to do!
Bacon and Egg Cupcakes
12 rashers of streaky bacon
10 large eggs
½ teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon pepper, ground
4 spring onions, finely chopped
large handful of English spinach, finely chopped
50g feta cheese, crumbled (optional, leave out for dairy-free/paleo)
smoked paprika
- Preheat the oven to 175C
- Cut baking paper into small squares, measuring 10cm x 10cm. Use these to line a 12-hole muffin tray.
- Form the bacon strip into a large ring and place inside each muffin cup, pushing gently against the paper lining.
- Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Crack eggs into a bowl and add the chili flakes, sea salt and pepper. Whisk.
- Once tray is removed from the oven, divide spring onions, spinach and feta between the muffin cups and place in to the centre of each bacon round.
- Pour a little of the egg mixture into each cup, filling to just below the top.
- Sprinkle lightly with a dusting of paprika.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until golden on top and cooked all the way through.
